Poison and Elixir
by Tanooki Daisy
Summary: A young mushroomian girl discovers that there is more about her than what meets the eye when powers she doesn't know she has endanger her loved ones... and herself.
1. Prelude

**Disclamer:** I don't own Mario, Toads, Toad Town, or anything else like that. I do, however, own the storyline and the characters Nillie and David -

This isn't my first fanfic, but it is my first one to be put online so please R&R, tell me what you think okay? :)

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**Prelude**

"Hey, cut it out!" the little mushroom girl giggled, swatting at her friend's hand. The boy kept poking her, laughing and giggling with her. The pair had been the best of friends for as long as either of them could remember, and delighted in getting on each other's nerves. She started poking him back, and soon they were frantically poking and jabbing, until the girl's mother entered the room with their lunches on a tray.

She put the tray down and scolded them lightly. "Now, you two, settle down! Can't you ever play without getting so rough?"

The little girl, who couldn't have been older than eight, grabbed her sandwich and grinned winningly at her mother. "Aw, mom, we were just playing. And besides, he started it."

"Did not, Nillie!"

"Did too, David!"

Soon they had snatched throw pillows off the couch and were pummeling each other with them, until feathers flew. The children were in hysterics by now. Nillie's mother grabbed their pillows, trying to hide her own laughter. "Look, I made you two this nice lunch, now will you hold still long enough to eat it?"

After a few more minutes, the pair settled down, and ate their lunch. Both agreed enthusiastically that Nillie's mom made better sandwiches than Tace T. Once they had finished it, they decided to take advantage of the nice summer weather and go outdoors.

"What do you think? Jump rope? Hop scotch?" Nillie said as they stood in the quiet street.

"Aw, we always play those same dumb games." David said, waving his hand dismissively. "Why don't we do something else? We could play tag," he suggested.

"All right, but… I'M NOT IT!" the little girl screamed gleefully, and immediately tore off down the road.

"Hey!" David yelled, grinning broadly as he dashed after her. They chased each other about for at least ten minutes, gently tapping and pushing each other as the tagged and re-tagged.

"Slow down, Dave!" Nillie cried as she chased her good friend. "Gotcha!" she shouted triumphantly, reaching out to touch him in the back. Suddenly her foot caught on a rock in her path, and she stumbled forward, accidentally bumping into David and knocking him forcefully to the pavement.

Nillie caught her balance and froze, staring down at her friend where he lay stunned on the road. He sat up, and his hands and knees were scraped and bleeding. On his forehead a large bump was already developing.

"Oh David! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it!" she said in a hushed voice. Dave looked at his injuries with wide eyes, which were wet with tears of pain. He choked back a sob and fearfully began to wipe his red hands on his vest. "David, David... you- you'll be all right, I promise!" she continued, kneeling by him. Tears were already streaming down her soft round cheeks. Gently she reached out and touched him on the shoulder, not knowing what else to do.

Suddenly her hand felt very hot. Her grip tightened, and David winced, but warmth was spreading from her hand and through his body like a sip of hot chocolate in the dead of winter. The pain from the scrapes was deadening, until finally it vanished completely, leaving nothing but a dull, numb throbbing in his hands and knees.

Amazed, he looked down at his hands. The hot, red blood was still there, so he wiped it off and looked again. The scrapes were gone completely. He looked up at Nillie with eyes full of awe and fear. She immediately let go of his shoulder and stared at her own hands in amazement. What had happened…? "Dave," she said dryly. "You'll have to wipe yourself off and change, or your mom will wonder what happened, and… I don't know what happened, Davie!"

He stood up and took off his already stained vest, using it as a handkerchief to clean himself off. He'd been bleeding a lot, he realized. He suddenly felt sick. "Nellie, that was really weird. How'd you do that?" She shook her head but said nothing.

"If you're okay then I better go home," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow?" she added hopefully. David grinned.

"Of course. See ya, Nil!" he said, managing a smile as he walked towards home. Nillie went inside her own house in silence, and went straight to her room to wonder about the strange occurrence.


	2. The Cruise

Second chapter: not too much happening but a bunch of plot advancers, so try and bear with me. I hope you all like this story so far. As of yet I'm not sure whether or not Mario will be involved at all in the story; I really haven't thought it out that far yet XD

**Disclamer:** I own nothing, except for Davinna, David, and Captain Shanta. And the storyline.

It wasn't until seven years later that Davinna, known by friends and family as Nillie, thought about that day again. Spring had come to Toad Town, bringing with it the feeling of new chances and hope as rain took the place of snow, and sweet flowers replaced old dead leaves.

Her short, curly brown hair bounced around her still cherubic face, and her bright green eyes twinkled merrily. The blue skirt she wore matched the spots on her large white cap. She was walking down that same road, on the way to her same best friend's house.

She reached the little house and knocked on the sturdy wooden door. "Dave!" she called, standing on tiptoe to peer through the unusually high windows "Dave I know you're not sleeping in, now come on!"

The door opened and she was greeted by the smiling face of her long-time friend. "Aw, Nil, how d'you know? After all it is Saturday." He leaned against the doorjamb jauntily, and Nillie had to grin as she rolled her eyes.

"Dave, you dweeb! We both know you don't sleep in. I've only known you for… how long? Forever?" she said sarcastically. "Come on, let's go!"

David looked around, before looking back at his friend with intelligent, crystal blue eyes. "Um… where are we going?"

"We're _going_…" she said, grabbing him by the wrist and pulling him out of the house. "On a cruise."

David pulled his hand loose and shut the door of his house. "A cruise," he repeated, looking at her in disbelief.

"Yeah! Now come on or we'll be late!" she cried enthusiastically, laughing at the look on Dave's face as she grabbed him by the hand again and ran down the street, dragging him along behind.

A moment later they had slowed to a walk, and were meandering down one of the main streets of Toad Town. The place was aptly named; nearly everyone's last name was Toad: all except Merlin, the mailman Parakarry and of course, the Marios.

"I've got the whole day laid out for us," Nillie was telling Dave as they walked past the garden in the town square, headed south. "It's gonna be great. Wait till you see! We can stay all day-"

"All day on a boat?" Dave interrupted. "No offence, but won't that be boring?"

Nillie laughed. "Well, yeah, all day on a boat would be pretty boring. Which is why the boat ride is only half the fun. You'll know what I mean when we get there," she added. They had reached the corner where Tace T's Bakery stood, and turned right, headed for the port.

"Ahoy there!" came a greeting from down by the water. They looked over at Fishmael, who was sitting at the edge of the pavement by the water, and doing his favorite thing in the world: fishing. "Headed out ter sea?"

"Yes we are! It's a nice day for sailing, isn't it?" Nillie said, smiling pleasantly.

Fishmael shook his head. "It looks that way ter me, but I wouldn't know fer sure- I'm no sailor, ye know." He reeled in the line and scowled at the bare hook. "Took the bait," he muttered. "Need that Fuzzipede back- now _that_ thing brought in some fish."

Dave grinned at Nillie, who shook her head, giggling. "All right, well, we'll talk to you later." The fisherman was fighting with the hook and some bait, and apparently hadn't heard them. The two laughed as the walked towards the docks, leaving Fishmael behind.

"Well," Nil said, "There she is." She waved a hand at the end of the dock, where a small white boat was moored. The peeling blue letters on the side read "The Oasis". "Beautiful, isn't she?"

"You've got to be kidding," Dave said, raising an eyebrow. "I thought we were going on a cruise."

Nillie shrugged. "Well, it floats, doesn't it? Use your imagination, 'kay? Besides, the actual boat ride is really pretty short, to be honest." She walked out to the end of the dock and carefully stepped up the gangplank and onto the deck. "Come on, Davie!"

Dave stepped cautiously onto the old wooden plank and slowly walked up to the boat. He soon realized that despite its shabby appearance, the boat was actually quite sturdy. He looked around and realized that Nillie was nowhere to be seen. "Nil?" he said loudly.

"Down here!" came her voice from somewhere below. He looked around again and saw that the galley door was open, and that a stairway led downwards. He climbed down the stairs and saw Nillie standing by a green nomadimouse wearing a sailor's cap and a blue ascot. "This is the captain," Nil said. "He's the only known nomadimouse to sail on a ship!"

"Pleased to meet you. My name is Captain Shanta," said the captain, stepping forward. Despite his choice in profession, he still spoke in the odd, Asian-type accent of the people of Dry Dry Outpost. "I came to the ocean because I got tired of all of the sand. So dry, so hot! I had heard of an endless expanse of water and swore to find it and master it someday. Finally one day I did; crossed the desert, climbed down the mountain, and took the train to Toad Town. I bought this boat- _my_ own boat!- and learned to sail."

"You should hear the long version," Nillie whispered to Dave. Aloud she said, "Well, captain, whenever you're ready we can set sail."

"Aye, then! You can stay in the galley or come up on deck; it's all the same to me."

They decided to go up with Captain Shanta and watch the launch, and then they stayed on deck, chatting and enjoying the cool sea breezes and warm midday sun. Their voyage was indeed short lived but very enjoyable all the same, and when they reached their destination and docked, they were both totally content.

"Are you ready for your day of eating tropical food and totally relaxing? Unless you'd rather have an exciting jungle adventure; a trek through Jade Jungle! Or perhaps you'd prefer a refreshing dip in the cool waters of the bay? Whatever strikes your fancy, you can find it here, on beeea-utiful Lava Lava Island!" Nillie cried as they jumped down from the boat and onto the sandy beach.

Dave had to laugh; she sounded like she'd swallowed a travel brochure. "So, this is your secret plan for them day, huh?" he said with a broad grin. "Sounds great. But why just pick one when we could do it all?"

That was exactly what they did; David had never actually been to Lava Lava, so first Nillie insisted on showing him the sights. She took him to the spectacular volcano, where red hot lava flowed constantly. She took him to the entrance to Jade Jungle, and showed him the lush greenery. She even took him to the spot where it was rumored that a giant tuna had recently waited in the water after transporting Mario to the island on one of his adventures.

After their tour they returned to the village, where they bought cool drinks and chatted with the friendly yoshis who resided there. They agreed that it was great to live so close to such a wonderful tropical paradise, and to have a friend who could take them there whenever they wanted. "We've gotta do this more often," David said. Nillie nodded enthusiastically.

A while later they were getting bored with lounging around. There were still a few hours before they needed to be home, so they decided to explore the jungle a little more. Saying goodbye to their yoshi friends, and making sure that the five yoshi kids didn't follow, they set out into Jade Jungle.


	3. Jade Jungle

Thanks princessviolet for the review! Okay, this is where the actual plot starts coming out, believe it or not.

**Disclamer:** I own nothing, except for Davinna and David. And the storyline.

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They traveled deep into the jungle together, stopping often to talk or look at the exotic plant life. The jungle itself was fascinating: a good deal of it was more water than trees; warm shallow water dotted with smallish lush islands, which were connected by bridges. Even when islands gave way to regular jungle, water was almost always somewhere nearby.

After a while, the sun had begun to sink in the sky, and the two friends decided they'd better head back to the boat.

"Come on, David, or we'll be late!" Nillie said, taking by the hand and beginning to pull him along again. "I don't want to hold up Shanta."

Dave laughed and stood still, pulling Nillie to a halt. "Nil, you don't always have to be in a hurry, you know. We've still got about an hour before sunset; that's plenty of time to get back." He looked around at the greenery surrounding him. "Okay, then… which way did we come from?"

Nillie looked around, too. "Um… that way, I think," she replied, pointing. "All right, so we don't have to hurry, but we should get going, don't you think?"

"Yeah. Er, are you sure that's the right way?" he said, looking the direction she'd pointed. "I can't tell; this jungle looks all the same to me."

"I'm _pretty_ sure…" she mumbled, looking around once again. "Yeah, I'm almost certain. Come on!"

"Almost?!?" Dave said, but Nillie was already off through the tropical forest, leaving David behind. He hurried to catch up, and then they were off through the trees together, on their way back to the village… or so they thought.

"All right, where are we?" David said, coming to a stop after at least an hour and a half of fruitless wandering. "We should have reached the village by now."

Nillie stopped too, and glanced around, with a worried expression on her face. "I'm not sure…" she muttered uncertainly. "But the village can't be far now, can it? No, it's gotta be around here somewhere! We'll find it, don't worry, we'll get there…"

David shook his head and sighed. "Face it, Nil; we're lost." He gestured towards the western sky above the tree line, where bright pinks and oranges were growing paler and blending fuzzily with the purplish-blue sky all around it. "And we're already too late. It's getting dark, and we'll never find our way at night."

Nillie gazed at him, dumbfounded; her mouth was moving speechlessly as she cast about for the right thing to say. Nothing came. For once in her life, she was totally speechless. Her lips trembled slightly as she tried to hold back the tears that were welling up in her striking green eyes.

David stepped closer and put his arm around her shoulder. "It's all right, Nills; we'll be fine. They'll send out a search crew, and I'll bet we'll be home for lunch tomorrow."

Suddenly she burst into tears, and putting her arms around him, cried freely into David's shoulder. "I'm so sorry!" she sobbed. "This is all my fault. I should have brought a map, but I didn't think I'd need one, and then I would slow down and listen to you, I thought I knew what I was doing but I didn't, and now we're lost and it's my fault! I always get you in trouble, Davie, and I'm so sorry!"

David, bewildered by the sudden outburst, patted her back tentatively and tried to be comforting, to the best of his ability. "It's all right, Nil. It's not all your fault. I should have paid better attention to the path we were taking. Look, we'll be fine, though. I promise."

She pulled away from him, wiping the tears from her face. "I'm sorry," she said, smiling slightly. "I know we'll be all right, it's just… I wanted to do this one thing right. Something fun for us to do, together. And to be honest, I was kinda stressed to begin with, trying to make sure the day would be perfect, and now I've gone and screwed it up. I'll be fine, though. We both will."

David smiled back at her. "That's the spirit," he said. "The only problem now is… what do we do now?" The light had already faded to the dim purpley haze of twilight, which seemed to hang like a tangible mist beneath the eave of the tropical jungle. Soon it would be very dark; too dark to move very far without tripping over something, probably.

Despite their (somewhat forced) optimism, the duo's current outlook looked pretty bleak. Seeing nothing better to do, they sat down on the soft mossy ground together and waited to be found- or for daylight to come again; whichever came first.

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Heh, yeah, so it's kinda sappy at the end there. The whole beginning of this story has been pretty sappy, I'm afraid, and I apologize for that P but it'll get better later on, I promise! Sorry this chapter was so brief, I've got a little bit of writers block XP Anyway please R&R, and tell me what you think! 


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